


Velocity

by Unnecessary_Phenomenon



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: A little OOC but love does that to some people, A lot of "wtf" moments, Episode 8 - The Sun the Sea and the Host Club, Escape Rooms, F/M, First Dates, Fix-It of Sorts, Get it? Because it's so impossibly rushed?, I finally learned HTML, I'm not a good writer, I'm trying, Making Out, Merit scene, Overdone to hell, Started as a one-shot so it's not as structured, Thank you so very much for reading folks, That's okay, Velocity is the distance covered in a certain amount of time, alt ending, but it has SOME structure, fluff?, severe canon divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26151127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unnecessary_Phenomenon/pseuds/Unnecessary_Phenomenon
Summary: "She thinks, if this was a shoujo manga, she’d comment on how sweet her senpai was. She thinks, if this was a romance comedy, he’d admire her bravado, and by her luck, a certain blonde would stumble in and accuse adultery. She thinks to scoff it off, how was it that she always found herself in the most preposterous situations? Flinging urchins at sexists, hurtling off a cliff, regurgitating pre-imported crabs and being straddled by a dark horse.She thinks, god, if this was a shoujo manga, she’d have half the mind to kiss him."A quick slip up turns into something better.
Relationships: Fujioka Haruhi/Ootori Kyouya
Comments: 26
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thank you for the nice comments, and I've decided to continue this to the best of my ability.  
> It's one of my favourite ships, I have a bad habit of shipping non canons.  
> Regardless.  
> Warning, I'm a slow writer and rather busy student, but I'll make do with whatever time I have. If you have any criticism, catch any mistakes or whatnot, please let me know so I can fix it.
> 
> New note (March 2021): I'm not sure whether or not I'll be continuing this story. I would like to mention though, I absolutely do not support any of Kyoya's actions in episode 8 in any way whatsoever. This is a fanfiction; please be cautious and don't brush off harassment in real life.

“You could pay me back with your body.” He spoke then, pushing her reeling mind onto the bed and straddling her thin frame. He looked down at the fragile girl between his legs, so utterly naive and so utterly enticing. Yet with all the braincells she was blessed with, she refused to see men as men.

“Feigning innocence is all well and good, but that naivety of yours is bound to compromise you.” His eyes pierced hers almost gently, no glass between them. Ghostly lights poured over her quaint dress and nothing else, leaving the rest of the room to be shrouded in something spectacularly abysmal. The sky was moonless, which of course, went completely unnoticed by the two teenagers on the bed.

She was so impossibly small, how did something so delicate ever set foot in this world was beyond him. So enthralling, this anomaly that waltzed into their clubroom and promptly stole their hearts in one way or another. It made him wonder if she acknowledged the power she held over those buffoons. 

He wondered if she had him pinned now, too.

“You’ve left yourself completely defenceless against me.”

Haruhi felt a minimum of 4 emotions start a fire within her. First was confusion as he lowered his face to her and whispered an offer about the flowers, because, _what the hell?_ Second was fear as she was flung onto the sheets, caged by this intense man above her. Third was curiosity as a slow as painful realization dawned on her. But the fourth nagged her, begging to be acknowledged. 

Desire.

This might have been his twisted way of saying ‘I’m going to rape you, you are but a girl,’ and she could repeat it to herself for hours on end, but she knew he wasn’t that kind of man. She had half a mind to say ‘get on with it,’ but that’d get problematic. She settles for this:

“Maybe.”

Kyoya visibly retracted, startled at the eerily calm voice accepting their position. “But you wouldn’t do that, Kyoya senpai.” He didn’t speak for a moment. “I know, because it wouldn’t do you any good, you wouldn’t gain anything from it.”

It took him a few seconds to collect his thoughts, resisting the urge to laugh at her. Of course that’s what she would say. Trust Haruhi Fujioka and her blunt force trauma, and those doe eyes to incinerated the lies before they leave your mouth. 

“Indeed.” He pulled off of her a little, knees still caging her. His hands that were pinning her now lay flat on the sheets where his knee held him up in a kneeling position. Haruhi had sat up too, elbows supporting behind her.

The wind picked up.

They simply stare at each other.

Cue the tumbleweeds, it’s almost unnerving.

She breathed in deeply, sighing in an almost exasperated manner. Truthfully, she had no energy at that point in time to argue, let alone put up with whatever seemed to swirl around them.

He dares to look her in the eye again, and sees something resembling hurt. She thought, did she really hold no merit, regardless of the situation, and what spell did this strange _boy_ cast to make her care in the least?

She thinks, if this was a shoujo manga, she’d comment on how sweet her senpai was. She thinks, if this was a romance comedy, he’d admire her bravado, and by her luck, a certain blonde would stumble in and accuse adultery. She thinks to scoff it off, how was it that she always found herself in the most preposterous situations? Flinging urchins at sexists, hurtling off a cliff, regurgitating pre-imported crabs and being straddled by a dark horse.  
She thinks, god, if this was a shoujo manga, she’d have half the mind to kiss him.

She leans forward and crashes her lips to his.  
His eyes widen, lips slack against hers, but they drew each other in by some unknown force. She tugs a little.

Having this captivating girl under him, wrists easily in his grasp and hips all too conveniently aligned with his, Kyoya’s thoughts had wandered to obscene places with little resistance. No, in all honesty, he had truly expected nothing more than a kick and run, so when this package of surprises successfully maneuvers a flawless ‘Haruhi,’ he has to remind himself not to be surprised. In minutes, she backs him off and kisses him full on the lips.

It lasts for a fraction of a second, and he thinks, something so intense should never be refined into such a short amount of time. He chases the gap between them and captures her mouth once again. Long slender fingers rope behind her waist, their bodies now flush against each other, and he lets his hips sink down into her, muffling an involuntary groan deep in his throat. He pretends it wasn’t him. Kyoya’s lips bite hers, slowly sucking on to the soft flesh, how is she so soft? and suddenly pulls back, the space between them now miles apart.

What just happened?

The silence resumes, the wind howling an awkward melody for the strange pair. From a stranger’s eyes, it’d look as if someone had committed a brand new sin, courtesy of satan and his lustful servants. Truthfully, that wasn’t far from the truth, Haruhi thinks, because she’d now have to pay for her actions. She kissed him! He kissed her back! _He did a lot more than kiss you,_ says a voice and she promptly sits on it before it can spout anymore vulgar nonsense. 

She suddenly notices the monotonous colours surrounding them; blue, green, black, and those steel grey eyes that took up most of her vision. And if a couch was meant to be red, it was replaced with anything but. She can’t see his eyes anymore, not with the bangs drooping around his face; is he embarrassed? A feeling of guilt settled in her bones.

“Sorry.” His head snaps up at her, looking incredulously.

“What are you sorry for? I’m afraid I’ve embarrassed myself,” he says, confirming her earlier assumption.

“I kissed you.” _I kissed back, moron._

The silence barges back in, it might as well kick in the door with a bang and chuck ice cubes into the air. And the silence left them to their thoughts for what felt like hours, but was in fact, less than a minute.

Kyoya becomes hyperaware once more that he is now in a strange house, past the daylight hours, in a dark room, on a bed, with the infamous Fujioka.  
He knows exactly what he shouldn’t do. And he realizes, he doesn’t particularly care.

He leaned forward to execute what he’s now going to call ‘The Haruhi,’ an unsolicited and fairly passionate kiss on the lips for 0.2 seconds. Or at least, he was going to, but something slowed his lips to linger by hers, “What are you…” she breathed, and he kissed her again.

Slowly, tenderly, as if she was glass, he moved his jaw against her and almost snapped his eyes open when she responded with matching intensity. He lowered them down, noticing the vague tremor in her body as he did so, and proceeded to lift his arms from her waist to the nape of her neck and cupped her face. This seemed to calm her a little.

The sheets sunk in with the weight of the two pressing downwards, breathing ragged and sparse. Kyoya's hands lowered down her body hesitantly, testing the waters, before grabbing her bare thighs under her dress and sliding them upwards, eliciting a soft gasp of surprise.

"So soft..." he managed to murmur into the kiss, colouring her face generously. 

She ran her hands down his front - because he was still _very_ shirtless - and nimble fingers came to rest at the loops of his jeans, tugging gently. He knew, when he saw the lust-filled eyes staring back at him, if he didn't stop now, he'd embarrass himself ten-fold.

Not here, not now, not like this. The walls were too thin, and the noises she made were all the more alluring.

He pulled back gasping, not meeting her eyes again. Kyoya had never felt so... exhilarated. He'd kissed girls, boys too (behalf of Tamaki™) yet none of that could ever amount to the searing bubble of heat they were trapped in not moments ago. Immediately he missed the warmth of her mouth, and like a mantra, his mind insisted on thinking 'so soft,' once more.

They were back to square one, staring at each other and wondering what the hell possessed them to move so carelessly?

Haruhi felt terrified. Not of Kyoya, never of Kyoya, but how willingly and easily she would've let him take her. How easily her self-control melted in his grasp, along with other things. Her heart pounded, wanting to be heard. She could hear Kyoya's choppy breath dull away, the fog now clearing out and soon, she too would have to deal with the aftermath of that kiss. _That was wayyy more than a kiss._ She sat on the voice once more. How annoying.

There was a noise. A strange and frightening noise, something resembling a dying wagon, if wagons could die, that is. She looks up to see Kyoya _laughing,_ and, was he laughing at _her!?_ Her face settled into a scowl which Kyoya promptly dubbed adorable, letting a hand fly forward and ruffle her hair in an affectionate gesture.

Haruhi wondered if he'd gone insane. Affection from the Shadow King was a sight to fear.

"And here I thought you were afraid of thunder. Was Ranka-san mistaken?" Her eyes shot wide. Three things:

One, is he now kissing her forehead? This affection thing was getting weird.

Two, how did she miss the violent claps of thunder?!

Three, how did he know about- no, she could answer that question herself.

Soon the shock melted into fear, as she drew her legs in and shivered at a particularly loud boom. Kyoya's face switched to concern and he swung off her, finally, and tucked her into his side. No words were spoken from here. His chin rested contently on her soft locks. It seemed that everything was soft with her, maybe it was contagious. 

They sat there for the remainder of the night, Haruhi gently dozing off against his chest at last, and he asked aloud the 8 million yen question:

"What happens now, Haru?"

She unconsciously nuzzled closer and his heartbeat threatened to wake her up. He too was drifting off. What the fuck happened? He couldn't leave this as a one-time thing, a fluke. Did she feel anything for him, or was it just curiosity? He sounded like a fangirl, dammit. A smug grin settled on his face. Kyoya Ootori was one up on her list, or so he hoped. The Host Club, his father, _her_ father, their social standings, all that good stuff, he knew there were many obstacles to having Fujioka Haruhi.

But how did he feel? Would it be worth the struggle?

She swung an arm around his middle and hugged him in his sleep.

He was more than willing to jump those hurdles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's started going downhill folks

They didn’t speak of it. What would they say?

That morning was a wakeup call, and the two teenagers decided not to say anything until they got the matters figured out.

It had been on his mind, taken over his mind, numbed it and set it on fire. Kyoya Ootori had kissed Haruhi Fujioka, never mind the details of the kiss. The aftermath wasn’t as explosive as he expected it to be; a simple morning of frenzy and stealth, a minimum of words, a couple cracking hearts and a promise.

_“Don’t tell anyone just yet.”_

Really, it was irrelevant as to who said that.

It had been on his mind like a virus, and with the spell of fatigue worn off completely, he could think clearly. And the thoughts swirled like a spiderweb of metaphors and unanswered questions, leaving him feeling fidgety. She didn’t feel much for him, he concluded. And that little slip of character would cost him his self-control.

The scratch of Kyoya’s pen amplified with these realizations.

Music played gracefully in the background. The host club was in session. He looked up from his notebook with dry eyes and a scowl, boring into the Hitachiins threatening their club manager’s inner medusa to emerge with a centipede they found. He silently commanded them to stop. They did no such thing.

“Kyoya?” It took him a moment to realize that the music had stopped a while ago.

“Tamaki.” The blonde walked up to his side, and laid a simple hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked in the voice Kyoya resented, so charming, melodious and _concerned._

“Did I do anything to suggest otherwise?”

He glances downward at the book in his grasp. The pen had snapped and smeared blue-black ink all over his hands. He groaned and stomped off to the restroom.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the distance, “Is something wrong with Ootori-san, Haruhi?”

“He seems a little stressed today…”

“Mm hm!”

“Still, he’s very good-looking…”

“What do you think, Haruhi?”

She had been cornered into her chair and loaded with questions by her guests, most of them related to Kyoya, and most of them lacked a response.

_“I think Kyoya senpai’s amazing!”_

“I think he just needs a bit of space right now. He is pretty good-looking, just as much as you ladies.” She said with a sweet smile and tilt of the head. It worked wonders.

Fangirls were such a curious thing.

They had systematically avoided each other for the past day or two. The eventful trip to the beach still heavy on their minds. She had the opportunity to apologize to Tamaki, who squeezed the life out of her as compensation for yelling at her (not that it helped or anything). Her eyes drew back to the door he stomped out of. Was he upset because of her? Did he regret what happened? How did she feel, and how should she feel?

“Does it really bother you that much…” she mumbled numbly, catching the eyes of the girls four around her.

They were hurting each other without realising it.

Thus began the game of cat and mouse.

The day finally packed itself together, Honey and Mori calling it a day, followed by the twins, then Tamaki after handing off the closing duties to the vice president.

That left one boy sitting on a couch running whatever the hell he did on his computer, and one other person rinsing tea sets in the back.

Kyoya had rinsed off the ink from earlier, but it left a blue stain on his skin, darkest at the pads of his fingertips and faded at the base of them. He had officially lost his grip of self-control.

He ran through the thoughts he’d been procrastinating on all week. He had kissed Haruhi, but she didn’t seem so responsive after that.  
 _“Don’t tell anyone just yet.”_

He hadn’t, of course. What would he say, never mind their reactions. _If you were Tamaki, you’d know what to do,_ says a voice within him. He grips the edge of his computer at the thought. He placed it back down on the table and stood up. He’d always admired the blonde, god forbid he said it out loud, envied him even, over matters of the heart.

Was this a matter of heart, or was he overthinking it?

He didn’t have the chance to mull it over when Haruhi walked back into the room. Her eyes were a little sunken, dry and red, full of a fire he risked to get tangled in.

So dramatic.

“Kyoya senpai,”

“Haruhi.” They finally had a chance to speak. She looked up, he was pretty tall after all, only to have him shoot lasers into her pinning her in place. She managed to squeak out an excuse and made a beeline for the door.

Two hands yanked her wrist back and pulled her into a cage of arms, her back now to his chest.

“Don’t try to run,” he whispered in a strange voice. She didn’t know it then, but she was blushing quite aggressively. Once he felt her stop wiggling, he let his arms go slack but kept them around her. The scent of her hair was dizzying. He spun her around, took a step back and straightened his back. Donning a host voice, he spoke sweetly:

“Let’s have a chat, no?” She shuddered. Had she angered him instead?

She sighed as they both took a seat. It wasn’t like her to get all flustered, after all. She might need to pull the reigns on this one, since Kyoya had proved useless in the cause.

“Kyoya senpai,” she began. He was seated on the opposite loveseat, a small coffee table between them. “I understand.” He had said she held no merit, and it clarified what happened that day; a slip of judgement, a slip of character. “It was a bit of an accident, so I understand. I don’t want to risk our friendship or anything, I mean, I’m kinda clueless at this stuff.” He looked at her with wide eyes as she chuckled. “I don’t want to risk the host club either, so I get why you said not to tell anyone. Sorry for crashing in your room too, and thanks for not telling the guys I’m scared of thunder. We could just forget what happened since you don’t feel-“

In an instant, he had her wrists in his grasp, a coffee table on the floor and knees on either side of her on the couch. He veered his face down to her, hair swishing slightly.

“Is that what you think?” She swallowed lightly.

So late into the night hours then, it was difficult to get a clean idea of what it felt like; having him dominate in such a way. It felt exhilarating.

She realized she didn’t want it to end.

“What do you mean?” she asked, a little drained from all the riddle-ish words.

He sighed, twisted off her and sunk into the sofa beside her.   
“You know, it’s common that when two people kiss,” she eeped. “They hold some semblance of romantic interest in each other.” This left a strangled noise in her throat.

“I don’t understand.” _God, she’s clueless. I should’ve expected this._

He groaned audibly, tilting his head back to look at the pristine ceilings. Then he turned to her, eyes square with hers, leaning in quickly to tap a kiss on a pair of unsuspecting lips.

He couldn’t bring himself to say a certain set of words, so he settles for: “Would you allow me the privilege to take you to dinner?” He saw the confusion in her eyes- “As a date! To court you.” He added hastily.

She smiled seeing him panic in a sense. “Sure. When?”

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon, how does that sound?”

“Great!”

“Oh and Haruhi?” he asked as she waved for the door. “Wear something radiant, I’d hate to outshine you.” He came as close to winking as Kyoya Ootori could. She shook her head at the egotistical bastard and paced out of the door.

His worries were over nothing, he realized. Well, more or less. She had agreed to go out with him, and while he found this exciting, it opened up a gateway to brand new apprehensive thoughts, on matters of anything and everything that could go wrong.

Haruhi sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Of all things, of all people, this wasn’t how she thought her Friday evening to go

But she wasn’t about to complain, either. She had a date to get ready for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know

Tamaki was having a fantastic day.

In fact, Tamaki’s day was so wholeheartedly fantastic that he decided to share the day’s glory with his meilleur ami.

His darling Antoinette’s leg had finally healed from a sprain a week before! Shima had finally let him try the commoner’s cereal he’d been so eager to eat, and he’d even won a small dinosaur. He looked as radiant as ever; that wasn’t anything new. He felt giddy from the moment he woke up, sensing the electric and joyful atmosphere, and decided that he simple _must_ share this day with his best friend as soon as possible.

Sure, it was a little early, and Kyoya wouldn’t really appreciate being woken up at nine…

It was irrelevant! Kyoya would thank him later, he always did. So there he went, hopping up the stairs of the Ootori mansion, chipper greetings flying out of his mouth to the maids he’d grown to know. They blushed furiously in response.

Tamaki’s nerves started creeping up on him the moment he reached Kyoya’s bedroom door. He _was_ known to be a little aggressive in the mornings, he knew this firsthand. He shivered remembering the death glare he sent him once, it was quite possibly more frightening than when he threw a full potted plant at him. But he was not to be discouraged by this!

Bravely, (“Where did he get that baseball bat???” the maids whisper) he eased in through the door.

His jaw dropped, along with the wooden bat, when he saw a conscious, anxious and mumbling Kyoya flinging clothes onto the already littered bedroom.

Kyoya, glasses askew, looked up to see a shell shocked Tamaki with what appeared to be a Pokémon themed bat. It was almost comical. He donned a sweet smile.

“Good morning Tamaki.”

Tamaki only stared.

“Would you like to come in?”

“K-Kyoya… what happened to you? Did you get any sleep at all? Are you feeling okay? Are you ill? Oh my god you’re sick aren’t you!” he went off, rambling impossible scenarios of how their marriage would be cut short and the club wouldn’t have a mother due to an unforeseen illness, and how they desperately had to seek medical attention. He leapt forward and smacked his forehead, feeling for a temperature and paused.

“You don’t have a fever…” he pulled at Kyoya’s lower eyelid. “You don’t look like you have a concussion, but did you even sleep last night? Kyoya, what’s going on! It’s not like you to wake up before 11 on a weekend! And you never welcome me in!”

Kyoya considered just calling security, but didn’t feel the energy would pay off. Tamaki was too insistent. “I’m fine, just a little frazzled.”  
“That isn’t like you either! What happened!”

“There have been some recent developments that… I’m not sure how I feel about…” he wasn’t sure why he was disclosing this to him, he’d obviously stick his nose in it.

“Is it a family matter?”

“No…”

“Did your cat die?”

“I don’t have a cat.”

“You don’t??? Then what was- ”

“Tamaki!”

Tamaki went on murmuring. “I could’ve sworn I saw _something_ fuzzy…”

His friend inwardly sighed. He got distracted so easily. Kyoya tried his best to disregard the fuzzy thing.

“There is no cat.”

Tamaki stared long and hard at the raven haired boy as he fixed his glasses and looked away. He certainly looked different, but where had he seen that look before? The general fluster, the fidget of his fingers, the messy hair and tired eyes… the most prominent thing was, he looked sick and oh so _happy._ A light bulb lit above his head.

“YOU’RE IN LOVE!” Kyoya choked on his own spit, crossing his arms in what he called a ‘manly deflection’ of a preposterous accusation.

“How did you conclude this?”

“So you are! Aww that’s so sweet!” Kyoya visibly retracted at the adjective. This was getting uncomfortable.

“I’m not jumping to conclusions, Tamaki. I just have a date.” Tamaki was _vibrating._

“ _Just_ a date?! A date is the blossoming of a springtime romance! The beginning of the waltz of love! A serenade- ”

“Tamaki.” He _bounced_ over to him, tiptoeing over the stray jeans and dress pants.

“So who’s the lucky damsel???” He inwardly cringed at the thought of referring to Haruhi as a _damsel._

“I think you’d find her very desirable, and for her privacy I’m keeping her identity a secret.”

Tamaki then went on about their future children, a selfless declaration of how mother would no longer need him, and Antoinette. Kyoya didn’t respond. In fact, he wasn’t listening.

Kyoya was _panicking._

It wasn’t even close to the determined time and he was already freaking out! He hadn’t thought of where to hold the date, nor what to wear, what gifts to bring, what she’d like, what she’d say, and it was driving him crazy.

He was _twiddling his thumbs._

“Tamaki,” he began.

“…and we could build- yes mom?”

He hesitated. “Where would you… suggest to go for a first date?”

Tamaki’s eyes bulged out. “Y-you haven’t decided?”

“…and what would you suggest you wear?”

“You. Haven’t. Decided?!”

He sighed. “No, Tamaki. I haven’t. Now are you going to help me or not?”

Tamaki™ began producing soundwaves with his vibration.

“Of course I’ll help! How about we chat about it over brunch? I’m sure some food would get us thinking!”

He began dragging the boy out of the room. Sometimes, Kyoya was thankful he befriended him.

“So what do you want to name your kids?”  
He stuck his leg out and tripped him.

* * *

Haruhi had been stolen. Scratch that, Haruhi had been kidnapped.

It was common knowledge, the connection between the Hitachiins and the Fujioka. They clung to her like a flotation device, and she let them. On occasion. This was not one of those occasions.

She woke up like any good soldier, tired and ready for the day ahead when a bucket of ice poured down on her.

She had a _date._

With Kyoya????????????????

And that was when the day started going horribly wrong. The twins had dragged her off for some coffee that morning, and landed her in a secluded booth with the two in a not-exactly-fancy café. They talked idly over schoolwork, the side effects of moisturizer, Canadians and the like. Haruhi kept tittering on every now and then at a volume no one would hear. The twins dismissed her apprehension as irritation; they looked rather similar on the commoner. Somewhere along the critical nonsense, they created a firm debate on whether or not sequins were a fabric, and Haruhi fought the notion ruthlessly.

“They’re plastic! You can’t make fabric out of that!”

“Actually…” Kaoru began.

“…you can!” Hikaru finished.

“We should know! We are Hitachiins after all,” they said in sync while wagging their eyebrows (also in sync).

“Look, unless you glue a bunch of them together, it’s not a fabric.” She countered.

“If you cut a reeeeeally small piece of fabric, would it still be fabric or just a couple threads?” Kaoru questioned.

“In that logic, anything can be fabric! It doesn’t even matter if it’s a fabric or not! It’s just inconvenient.” She finished with gulping her cold tea as punctuation. She slumped back in a reluctant defeat.

The café was sweet, quiet, and cozy. The walls were brown, and the scent of sugar and coffee wafted through the room. The door jingled lightly, indicating that a customer just entered.

Haruhi froze.

Kaoru noticed her odd behaviour and turned to look where her eyes seemed to be glued.

“Is that the boss and Kyoya senpai!?”

“Eh?!” Hikaru let out an ungraceful noise as his head swiveled to watch the two second years walk in. They hadn’t noticed them yet. “What’s Kyoya senpai doing at a place like this?”  
“Tono probably dragged him out again.”  
“But it’s only half past nine!” They resumed a period of silence and analyzed the situation as the two found a booth one bench space behind them. The twins grew matching grins.

“Hey Hikaru,” Kaoru poked. “They haven’t noticed we’re here…”

Hikaru snickered. “That’s true, Kaoru. We wouldn’t want to bother them, though, right?”

“Not at _all_ , Hikaru. But I am curious to what they’re doing here.”

“Well there _is_ one way to do both…” Hikaru suggested slyly. Both heads turned to Haruhi.

“We are not spying on them. That is an invasion of their privacy, they have a right to personal space and confidence. Eavesdropping is just rude and plain wrong.”

Needless to say, she ended up a booth behind the cohosts, ducking with two redheads. They tuned into the conversation.

“Venice?”

“No.”

“An amusement park.”

“No.”

“Ooh, a museum!”

“God no.”

“The Bermuda Triangle?” Kyoya shot the blonde an exasperated look.

“Tamaki-”

“Oh come _on_ Kyoya! It’s been half an hour and you still haven’t told me anything about her! What does she like? Is she pretty? Are you in love? What would you name your firstborn child?”

Haruhi grew tomato red.

“I’m beginning to think this is a bad idea, Tamaki.” Tamaki began spurting declarations of ‘no.’

“Well, at the very least, run a brush through your hair! You look like a mess!”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. She’s beautiful, for your information, and I doubt she’d love any weird date ideas _you’d_ scrap together.”

“You sound very fond of her; it’s not a business associate’s daughter?”  
Kyoya simply shook his head and sipped his black coffee.

“Then you must be in love!” He said all too loudly.

The twins let out a gargle.

“Eh?!” “Kyoya senpai, you have a date?!” “No Kaoru, I think he’s in _love_ love!”

Kyoya turned, half mortified and half furious, glaring at the twins as they emerged out of nowhere. “The Shadow King doesn’t know how to woo a girl!” Hikaru exclaimed, clutching his side as he laughed.

“And to think _he_ was criticizing our act!”

“Oh it’s too much!” They yelled, tears brimming their eyes.

Kyoya was about to strangle them when a figure stepped sheepishly from behind them.

And he just about died.

Haruhi gave a sweet but awkward wave and tilt of the head. Of course, she was freaking out. This situation was far too awkward to begin with; she should’ve upgraded her locks earlier that week. Kyoya remained motionless to her gesture. He hadn’t noticed that the noise had stopped.

Tamaki hadn’t failed to notice the awkward exchange between them He cleared his throat, “Ahem, anyways, Kyoya and I have some planning to do! Would you guys like to help us? How about you, Haruhi? It’d be good to have a girl’s opinion!”  
Haruhi gracefully melted into a small puddle. The twins snickered once more, collecting the now liquidized Haruhi in a bucket and tipping their hats off to the shell shocked boy and rambling idiot.

Once they were out of view, Kyoya groaned, snapping out of his trance and slammed his forehead on the table.  
  


* * *

Haruhi was dropped at her house with a headache and a permanent blush. The twins disappeared on account of sabotage (“For shits and giggles, just a bit of harmless fun,” they said) She involuntarily shivered. This day just got better and better. She would’ve guessed Kyoya already had every detail planned, down to the trip of a shoelace. It was rather comforting knowing he was as much as mess as she was.

She didn’t expect it from him, but she did appreciate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. Folks. Friends. Help me out.  
> I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR A FIRST DATE!!1!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's astonishingly useless,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas! I am rather proud of this! It's a long one too

Tamaki was useless. This was a fact.

Actually, no, that wasn’t entirely true. After a _brutal_ three hours of planning, Kyoya had concluded one thing:

If he was going to do this, he’d have to do it on his own.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as a reflex, returning the hand to his pockets. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to pace through the commoner streets. Maybe it was the couple on the sidewalk walking amiably with a loose grip on each other’s hands. Maybe it was the refreshing morning mist that had faded into a perfect humidity, but he never cared for such things anyway. It quite possibly might’ve been the two tufts of orange hair wiggling behind a trashcan at the café that pushed him to take a sudden walk. Everyone else had gone home, (he had to double check the trash can) and now it was him alone suspiciously eyeing the prices through a jewelry store window.

How were they so low if they were genuine pearls? He made a mental note to dive into it later.

He checked his watch. Well, it was now or never. He made his way up the stairs of her apartment.

* * *

“Dad?” she called, watching Ranka rummage through her closet.

“Yes sweetheart?”

“You know I don’t have to be all fancy, right?” His neck snapped up at her.

“But Haruhiiii~! It’s your first date! You should look nice!” He picked up a pale pink dress. “Besides, I don’t want Kyoya-kun to outshine my baby.” He mumbled.

“Yeah, he said something like that…”

She ended up picking a simple slim lavender dress that fell to her knees and a barrette in her hair, the latter repetitively suggested by her dad. She slipped on a thin coat (it was a little gusty outside) and was about to grab a satchel when the doorbell rang.

Outwardly, she had to remain calm for the sake of her dad. Inside, she was in fact having a nervous breakdown. Regardless, she peered through a crack in the door. Kyoya stood waiting in a blue button up, hair slightly tousled and a wry smile on his face at her blush. She fully opened the door and gave a quick bow.

“Kyoya! You look nice…” he bent at the hip and pressed a gentle kiss onto her hand.

“And you’re as stunning as ever,” he returned, turning to face Ranka. “Ranka-san, you look lovely this evening.”

“Hello, Kyoya-kun! How have you been? Oh, I can’t believe my little girl’s going on her first date! Take good care of her, Kyoya.” He nodded in response.

Ranka paused as Haruhi went back in to look for her bag. “And by the way,” he added sweetly. “If you hurt her, _I will eat your kids._ Am I clear?”

Kyoya retracted at the mortifying statement but nodded in understanding. He knew he’d have a full harem to deal with lest he ever consider hurting her.

With that, they descended the staircase.

* * *

They ended up, somehow, for some inexplicable reason, in front of an entertainment facility that was premiering movies. Kyoya and Haruhi had walked rather than driven (much to her surprise) down the streets into the suburbs while chatting about all things casual. They talked over school work, the host club, plans for the future and everything mandatory on a first date.

Though, the more Haruhi talked to him, the more at ease she felt. Her nerves slowly dissipated, and that glowy warmth returned every time he flashed her a quick smile. He had smiled before, but it was… almost endearing to see him smile at her so genuinely. Not that she’d ever call him cute, she planned to live past 20.

“Did you…” she began. He nodded, prompting her to continue. “When did you want to tell them?” It was no question who ‘them’ was.

“Perhaps after things have settled, we are supposed to head somewhere this summer, and our king’s bound to drag you along regardless. That’d be a rather convenient time, don’t you think?”  
She glared at him. “So we’re watching a movie?”  
“Well, I’ve never been a big fan of movies anyway.”

“I haven’t either…” she turned her head to a separate hallway by the corner of a kiosk.

**_Velocity: Love Isn’t Endless_ **

_\- Escape Room -_

“That looks interesting,” she said.

“What does?” She tilted her head towards the entry. “And what might an escape room be?”

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. “You don’t know? They’re kinda like live puzzles, you go into a room to solve puzzles and clues to find a key and escape.”

“And being locked in a room with no definite escape sounds appealing?” he asked with a quirked brow.

“They let you out eventually,” she explained. “Maybe an hour? Do you like puzzles, senpai?”

“I think we’re beyond honorifics now, _Haru-chan._ But I suppose this idea out outrivals a dark room filled with people watching a movie.”

“Yeah, actually, I’m a little surprised you’re out here at all. Knowing you, you’d probably set up some fancy-schamncy-way-too-expensive outing and add it to my debt.” She joked.

“Do you really think so little of me?” she was surprised to hear hurt in his voice.

“Not at all. Let’s try it out!”

* * *

They purchased some tickets and were shoved down a long corridor ending at a grand set of wooden doors. Reluctantly, they pushed it open.

An old western style room laid before them, antiques lining every corner of the chamber. The walls were a faded maroon that had thin gold strips running vertically, wrapping around the room. Dusty leather-bound books and candelabras decorated rows of shelves attached to the walls and discolored floral carpets. The air reeked of an old and crisp spice, a mix of things from the ashtrays and a lulling smell of oak. In the center of the room rest a table with a single red rose, cased in a thin glass dome.

 _Well this is rather elaborate,_ he thought.

Above the grandfather clock was a sign:

_Velocity; the amount of speed at a given direction_

_Find the key to escape._

The door slammed shut behind them, followed by a loud click.

“And this is entertaining because?” But Haruhi was already skipping around the room, reading posters and pulling at books.

He stood for a moment and watched her gaze at the rose display in fascination. She had always managed to find joy in such trivial things.

He thought, if he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly. He began scanning the room for irregularities and patterns. Some things caught his eye:

A broken analog clock; a Shakespeare novel; a telephone.

“Kyoya?”

“Yes?”

“I found a safe.” Well, that had to be a good place to start. She shuffled a few leaves away from a fern plant.

“We need a 4 digit code, hmm…” he joined her in the random inspection of objects.

He picked at a label on a potion bottle labelled poison. The light reflected off the glass from an old television screen on a nearby mantle.

It flashed unevenly.

“The clock.” He turned to her. She pointed to the grandfather clock he noticed earlier. It hadn’t moved since.

“It’s broken,” he acknowledged.

“It’s at 5:30, maybe we could try 0530?” But he was three steps ahead.

“Still locked.”

“Oh, what about the 24 hour clock? Try 1730!”

Click. The door to the safe swung open. Kyoya smiled, it wasn’t as if he meant to, (what did he have to gain from opening a useless safe?) but felt some strange rush of satisfaction run through him. He did love puzzles. It was time to take this seriously.

“Well, there’s the first step. Normally in puzzles everything would connect at the very end, so every clue we find has to tie into everything else. We have approximately one hour, that leaves…” he bit his lip.

“A 15 minute dent into our time. Everything in this room is placed for a reason, be it distraction or décor, the goal is to identify the tools and uses for them. There’s a number of Shakespeare scripts among the books. The only functional pieces of electronics in this room are the T.V., the telephone and clock, albeit the hands themselves don’t move, the pendulum bob indicates that it still works.”

She looked at him in surprise. “I didn’t think you’d find this interesting,”

“On the contrary, I love puzzles. I am rather competitive and I hate to lose, so let’s get to work.”

They set off once more.

She watched him scan through books at an inhuman pace. A light blinked at the back of his shirt every few seconds, radiating from the TV. Haruhi paid closer attention, noticing the little ‘bzzt’ before the same sequence of flashes and blinks repeated.

‘Morse code!’ she thought. They always had Morse code.

Bzzt.

Blink…

Blink blink…

Flash flash blink…

E-I-G-H-T.

“Eight?” She muttered.

“Try tuning the channel,” a breathy voice suggested by her ear. She jumped and swatted Kyoya on the head.

“Kyoya! Don’t do that!” she exclaimed, but heeded his advice anyways. “What was in the safe by the way?”

“A medal and a quote.”

“I don’t see how that helps…”

“The medal has a few rows of sets of telephone numbers. I examined the phone by the armchair; it can only be used to phone one number.” The screen of the TV switched to a clear picture of a bronze medal with a set of numbers scratched out.

_~~567-567-567~~ _

She beamed at the screen. “What was the quote?”

“’And love shatters to grow at all.’” He glanced at his wristwatch. “We’re a little short on time.”

“Call the number then!”  
“Are you sure we should be so hast- ”

“If you won’t, I will.” She marched over and dialed the numbers on the rotary phone. The phone rung once, twice, a third time and she began sweating.

 _“Love sought after is good-”_ said a pre-recorded voice, followed by scratchy static.

“’Love sought after is good,’” she echoed.

“’but giv’n unsought is better.’” Kyoya finished. She peeked curiously at him.

“You read Shakespeare?”

“On occasion. I didn’t expect you to, though.”

“Tamaki senpai’s a huge fan,” she chuckled. He inwardly grimaced at the mention of him. “He’s always going on about the ‘grand woes of literature’s tragedies.’”

He paused a little, suddenly feeling irrationally insecure. “Haruhi…” he looked directly at her. “Are you interested in Tamaki?”

She stopped poking at the artificial wallflowers and thought for a moment. Then she started chuckling, which turned into a full wheeze, bent at the hips and clutching the armrest to support her. He looked incredulously at her as she wiped a few stray tears.

“I hardly find the situation funny. He’s the perfect concept, even if he’s a complete idiot-”

A pair of lips stopped his train of thought, and left just as quickly. She smiled sweetly at him and blushed a little from the unprompted kiss. “I don’t know how I feel, Kyoya, I can’t tell you just yet.” He sucked in a breath. So she…? “But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t enjoy your company, right? I mean…” she twiddled with a loose thread on the fabric sofa. “The twins are my best friends. Tamaki senpai’s right, Honey senpai and Mori senpai, everyone’s kinda like a family. He might even be onto something with the whole mother charade. You take care of all of us,” she mumbled. “I haven’t thanked you for that yet.”

He stopped in his tracks. He knew what he was doing when he tended to Tamaki’s frivolous needs, when he added onto Haruhi’s debt so she’d have a reason to stay, when he piled sweets for the Haninozuka, but never received a solid thanks in response. She had him dumbfounded for a moment.

“You’re welcome.”

“Kyoya…” she asked. “What was the quote from the safe?”

“’And love shatters to grow at all,’ why?”

“Roses.” She pointed to the glass showcase in the center of the room. “They’re a symbol of love. And they used the word ‘shatter’ for a reason, I don’t recognize the quote…”

“What are you suggesting?” he asked as she moved closer to the flower. “Haruhi!”

But she had already picked up the medal by the ribbon and swung it against the glass, sending shards all over and off the table.

The rose lay untouched and free.

She smiled, breathing roughly. “’Love sought after is good, but giv’n unsought is better.’ ‘And love shatters to grow at all.’” He simply stood in mild shock.

“Are you okay?” She nodded and picked up the flower. The blood red petals cascaded down her hand, and in the center was a small roll of scroll paper. She pulled it out of the depetaled bud and unrolled it.

_“What is behind you now, turn it back.”_

“That’s astonishingly useless,” Kyoya said as he twisted to see anything that might’ve been behind him that he missed.

“It’s a clue, it has to be used for _something_ ,” she pointed out.

“It could be to throw us off,”

“I had to break glass to get this!”

“Like the renaissance vase,” he muttered.

“Not funny, senpai.”

“Irrelevant, Haru-chan.” He retorted with a smile.

“What do we turn back?”  
“Something that’s behind us,”

She sighed in exasperation. “There’s nothing placed directly behind us. They mean something else.”

“Well we have 7 minutes left so you ought to think fast.”

“What! What about you!?”  
“Six fifty-nine…”

“Okay, okay! They told us to turn something back, something that’s behind us. There’s no physical object behind us that we could logically turn… do you have any idea?”

“Six thirty…”

“Jeez, senpai! How helpful. ‘What’s behind you now…’” she glanced at the broken clock. Something left behind. Something you can turn back, “Time! The past is left behind us, and we can turn back the hands!”  
He smirked at her. Her jaw dropped a little.

“You knew didn’t you! Why didn’t you say anything!”  
“It’s endearing to see you bite your lips when you think.”

“Rich, arrogant bastard…” she muttered, turning pink as she followed his path to the grandfather clock.

“There’s 4 minutes left-”  
“Oh, just do it! You know I’m too short!”

And so he did. Kyoya slowly twisted the little dial at the face of the clock, pausing at every hour. “They didn’t tell us how far back…”

“Do you think we got it wrong?”

Click.

The clock displayed 12. The machinery whirred as the hands moved on their own accord, turning faster and faster until they stopped abruptly. It followed by silence.

“This can’t be part of the puzzle,” Haruhi commented.

It began ringing, one bell after another. One, two, three… They started becoming less stable and more aggressive, reaching near its tenth ding. Kyoya pulled Haruhi back from the face as the clock struck 12.

A small figurine violently shot out from the little doors. Cupid. Its arrow launched and buried itself inches deep into the opposite wall.

“The key!” She grabbed his hand and ran over to it, gripping the hole in the key and pulling it out of the dry wall. It had a heart-shaped head that fit perfectly into the keyhole. Kyoya put his hand over hers as they twisted the key.

Before they could remove it, the door swung open, revealing an old easel with painted letters.

_You have the right direction, but time flies quickly._

_Do not wish to turn back the clock._

It didn’t make sense, the way he felt right then. It was a strange and devastatingly simple feeling, one very strong and left him staggering with a restless and idiotic smile. Haruhi still had a grip on his hand marginally tightening it every now and then, as if he might dare let go.

A bright and energetic man popped out from behind the door, and the couple recognized him as the game host from the registration kiosk. He wore the same ridiculous outfit, red velvet adorning a blindingly bold band costume. “Ah, my sweetest congratulations to the merry couple, sharp of wit! You have escaped the grasps of speed, and now to escape the woes romance! Thank you for taking part in our little game, I bid you adieu, folks!”

He pushed them by their backs out of the small hallway and into a busy lobby and rushed back into the room. They stood a little startled, until Kyoya let out a small titter, and Haruhi soon joined him in a full laugh.

“He and Tamaki senpai would get along,” she joked.

“They sure would.” But at the back of his mind, those little words on the easel etched its way into his conscious. _Do not wish to turn back the clock,_ he remembers. Just what did they mean by that?

“That was fun!” He turned to see her with a vibrant smile that stopped his breathing for a moment.

“Yes,” he responded dumbly, not entirely sure what to say next. He felt almost giddy, it was so out of character.

“Are you okay, senpai-”

He silenced her with a kiss. “Really, for every time you refer to me as ‘senpai,’ I’m adding to your debt.”

She glared at him. “It’s a little too early to head back, do you want to get something to eat?”  
Kyoya shook his head in mirth. She was always thinking of food. “I am rather hungry. Since we did something relevant to commoners for the first half, would you allow me the honor of a proper courting?”

“I know that translates into something to do with excessive amounts of money,” she hesitated.

“It’ll be a lowkey restaurant,” he offered. She thought about it. “With fancy tuna?”

Haruhi grumbled out a response.

“What was that?”

“I said ‘sure,’ but don’t feel like you need to waste stuff on me.”

He then bent down at the knees, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand amidst the lobby.

“It’d hardly be a waste.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dinner is up next, any oddly specific requests or ideas I might be able to wiggle in?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes: Keep in mind that this is only after episode 8 or so, any events after have not happened yet. Some dialogue refers to ep.17 (Kyoya's reluctant day out)  
> God forbid I actually update on time

“There’s no point in struggling, _Haru._ You know I always get what I want.” He teased in a soft voice.

“I… I don’t think this is a good idea…”  
“It’s not that bad.”  
“Does it have to be _here?_ ” He smirked in response.

“Where else would you rather do it?”

She huffed and pivoted on her heel.

“There are plenty of other places we could eat!”

Their date had gone well for the rest of the evening. Kyoya had promised to head somewhere to eat before the two teenagers headed home. The only problem was deciding on where they should go.

Commoners’ restaurants were out of the question, considering the sneaky blonde currently on Kyoya’s tail (“What do you mean, mom? Of course I’m not stalking you!”) and Haruhi wasn’t too fond of fancy places, so Kyoya had settled on the only place they could eat in peace: the Ootori mansion.

“I don’t see what’s so wrong with this location,” he pondered as he pulled out a key. Most of the house staff were off on weekends, save for Tachibana and a maid or two.

“Won’t your father be home?” she asked with chills running down her spine.

He stopped to think for a moment. “I rarely see him as it is. He’s always locked up in his study. You should be fine.” He sounded almost forlorn as he said this. She nodded.

* * *

“So,” he began as they settled at the table. “What on Earth led you to smash that case?”

He was referring to the glass case at the escape room from earlier that day, the one that happened to hold the answers to the key. She simply shrugged.

“The clues pointed to it. It was a little drastic, I know.”

She was known to be a little drastic, or blunt. Blunt was a better word. She hadn’t held back before and she wasn’t going to start now simply because they were getting closer. They fell into a compatible silence as they ate a small variety of spicy vegetables and seafood.

Haruhi placed the cutlery neatly at her side and resumed gazing at Kyoya.

“Like what you see?” He teased.

“I meant it. Thank you.” She sighed.

It was a funny thing how swiftly the mood could change with nothing but a few words. “Of course,” he replied at last. “You’re welcome.”

“You’re such a nice guy but go through all that trouble to make yourself seem all big and scary. It’s counterintuitive if you ask me. We owe you a lot. The host club, that is.” She corrected, glaring at him lest he dare make a comment about her debt.

“You owe me quite a lot, yes. Would you like me to remind your father on the topic?” He did it anyway!

She scoffed. “You know, Kyoya senpai, I know nothing about your family.” And again, in a flash, the new mood had shattered. He stiffened as he spoke.

“That’s because there’s nothing for you to know.”  
“It’s a little unfair to me…” she responded as she poked around a dry bone.

He paused at the thought. “Unfair how?”

“Well you seem to know everything about me, even my dad’s friends from work but I still know nothing about you so I call that unfair.” She said casually. “Don’t you have two brothers? What are they like?”

His brothers were a hazard to society and his wellbeing. “They are… rather exceptional. All the Ootori are. They’re the Ootori legacy, destined to run the Ootori empire someday…” he said a little distractedly.

His family was a complicated matter. His sister had been the only one he was close with. There came the rare occasions where he felt unnoticed; god forbid he say it out loud lest he believe the horrid truth. The Ootori had 3 children, what good was a fourth?  
Especially considering what had happened to his mother.

Perhaps that was where it went wrong. He knew they were once a family that gathered at dinners to eat together, merely for the hell of it. He knew he was cradled in a fatherly gesture. He knew that they shared a hug or too; it wasn’t as if they were made of ice.

He prodded the chilled gelato placed in front of him, chipping away at the flecks of ice rimming the edges. He was never a fan of sweets anyway.

There was something about the way she looked at him that reminded him so much of her. They hardly resembled each other, (raven black hair ran in the family) but the motherly way she talked to people was… odd.

No… comforting. As if he had a say in a matter, as if he was protected and not protecting.

He chided the thoughts away; they were silly notions.

“What about your mother?” she asks, and he realized he was staring off for a minute. The answer to her question was easy.

“She never cared about us.”

She lost grip on her spoon and let it clack against the plate coaster. “Of course she cared! Why wouldn’t she?”

Kyoya plucked back the spoon and stuck it in the viscous dessert. “She didn’t care enough to stay. She took her life a little after I was born.” Her mouth hung open at the thought.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”  
“Of course you didn’t,” he said wistfully. “Truly then, what do you know about me, Haruhi?”

She scrunched her brows in thought. “If I had to say… I’d probably compare you to Tamaki senpai.”

“Tamaki?” he scoffed. “We’re practically polar opposites.” Kyoya traced the laced doilies along the table with his eyes. From the outside eye, he and Tamaki were peers, clubmates, etc. Perhaps even friends. Though, he could never explain the bond he had formed with him. Of all things that could happen, he had actually grown attached to the guy. Still… “Really, the only reason I joined the host club was simple. I had something to gain.”

“Tamaki senpai would be heartbroken if he heard that,” she replies with concern.  
“Not at all. He’s understood this arrangement from the very start. The host club’s glue revolves around our egocentricity.”

A few moments passed, leaving Kyoya to ponder at what he had just said.

“No,” she denied at last. He gave her a confused look. “I know there’s more to it. And you two are more like each other than you give credit for.”  
“Oh? How so?”  
“You’re one of the most passionate people I’ve met, Kyoya senpai.” That halted him in place.

“I live off merit, Haruhi. Frankly, I don’t understand what you see in me.” She didn’t know he could get so insecure. It was amusing, much to his chagrin.

“I know you care about the club. You’d do anything to protect it, so forgive me if I don’t believe that. But…” she drifted. He met her eye and prompted her to continue. “…why would anyone do anything without merit?” She never understood the idea. Who would do something without reason? “How I see it, you only go after visible benefits.”

_Cowardice! Go take a risk._

She flashed a quiet and radiant smile at him. “Maybe Tamaki senpai helped you out of that.”

God, maybe he did.

But it felt strange to be told outright. “I do not need your pity,” he declared. Then: “I’m sorry,” he amended quickly after seeing her stricken face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t talk about things like that-”  
“No,” he cuts off. “I… appreciate you Haruhi. I’m simply unaccustomed to talking about these things.”

“Then it’s okay,” she said. He gave a full grin in response. “You should smile like that more often, it’s breathtaking.”

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Kyoya found himself with a full blush. Haruhi’s smile twisted into a cheeky smirk.

There was a sudden noise, something between a hacking cough and a squeal. Haruhi jumped back from the now empty plates and spun her head side to side, trying to find the source.

“Noel,” Kyoya chastises evenly. And with Noel, there was always…

“Kyoya! It’s meeeee!” called a dark haired woman from the entrance to the dining lobby. “I was _going_ to call but you weren’t picking up. I wasn’t expecting you in here, it’s far too early to eat dinner; what are you doing in here? Did one of your friends-” she completely cut off once her eyes landed on Kyoya’s date, as if she was some strange extraterrestrial. “Are you… ARE YOU ON A DATE?” she screamed.

They both turned to look at her only to see a star struck Haruhi shaking paws with a small black cat at her ankles.

* * *

Haruhi had a growing anxiety from the moment she stepped into the Ootori mansion: Meeting his family.

To be fair, what she had imagined was nothing close to the woman seated across from her on the quaint loveseats in a coffee room.

Why did she care? It had never mattered what others thought of her, yet she found herself strangely considerate of her impression on this girl.

“I never knew Kyoya-senpai had a sister,” she offered. She gathered that this was Kyoya’s sister from their informal interactions after finally looking up from the kitten placed on her lap a few minutes ago.

Well, more like the kitten had chosen her as a bed and hadn’t left.

“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend!”

She choked. “G-girlfriend…” and again, she didn’t know why she was so panicked.

“He’s always so closed up. I worry about him. It’s nice to see him opening up so much, especially as of late.” There was a poised and cautious toned to her voice, no matter how cheery she forced it to be. No frivolous hand gestures like Tamaki, nor a stiff back like Kyoya’s.

“Ahem-” Kyoya leaned forward, prompting Noel to jump off Haruhi’s lap and scramble to his, “I’m right here.”

Fuyumi graciously ignored him. “If you ever need embarrassing baby photos for blackmail, I’d love to help you out,” she whispered with a wink. He shot a slicing glare at the two of them. “I’m Fuyumi Ootori-Shido, Kyoya’s older sister. That over there,” she said while pointing to Noel. “Is my precious child.”

“Fuyumi, he’s a cat.”  
“I don’t see you complaining when I bring him over! You love him.” It was true, Kyoya had reluctantly gotten rather close with the feline.  
“I simply appreciate Noel,” he says as he affectionately scratches the back of the cat’s neck. He looked up suddenly as if just realising something. “What are you doing here?”

She hesitated before answering, “Father’s coming home.”

The air had suddenly chilled a few degrees south. “He wanted to speak with you.”  
“I see,” he said quietly. He and his father had a rough falling out ever since the host club had flourished. On some days, Kyoya was amazed at himself for staying in the host club even after he had been reprimanded so harshly. Yoshio Ootori was a secretive man, always out on business trips, answering evasively when questioned as to where exactly. When he was asked to be seen, Kyoya had already formed at least fifteen different reasons as to why. One stuck with him: Did he know about Haruhi?

“When does he wish to see me?”  
“Some time later tonight.” So, he had some time left to accompany his… girlfriend.

The term felt rather awkward on his tongue. “Of course, thank you for informing me. Now if you’ll excuse us, we still have an evening together.”  
Fuyumi’s face split into a wide smile. “Of course, I’ll leave you two to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter, I had a pretty stressful/lonely birthday and literally lost all motivation to write.  
> Stress isn't enough to stop me though :D This chapter's shorter than intended since I had to split it. The next one *should* be up soon.  
> Don't count on it.  
> Hope you're having a magnificent day.


End file.
